


Let us Begin

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-20
Updated: 2010-05-20
Packaged: 2019-01-19 12:55:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12410691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: This is a story of the life of Merope Gaunt according to me.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

ÿþ'Get up you filthy little squib! Get up and clean this mess!' shouted Marvolo Gaunt Riddle.  
A young lady was sprawled on the floor, beside a broken pot. Merope Riddle never really knew a life other than the one she had. Her mother had mysteriously disappeared when she was five and her father never mentioned her. Her brother Morfin was always favored by her sexist father, and was the ideal child to have and Merope was a useless burden, something she was constantly reminded of.   
Merope hastily got up and started cleaning, while her father went back to drinking. Merope was glad her father was too drunk to see she wasn t using her wand. It wasn t like Merope didn t know magic. She just couldn t get it right in front of anyone. It worked perfectly when she was alone. Morfin was nowhere to be seen so Merope concluded he was outside torturing animals or little kids.   
Merope started preparing dinner. She wasn t much of a cook but if she didn t do it, she doubted any other member of her family would. She set the filthy table and put the last dish on the table with some extra force. Immediately she looked over to her father to see if she was too loud. Oh no, today she did it, she was a bit too loud. Now she would be the victim of Morfin s dangerous magic which her father thought was the perfect punishment for her. Marvolo searched for the voice that disturbed him, saw that his daughter was beside the table where a dirty pot stood, and them grunted his approval. Merope thanked .god she wasn t too loud and got out of there as soon as possible. She was not allowed to eat with her brother and her father and she liked it that way, all their glares and rude comments were very hurtful, but then again Merope was used to it.   
After a while, Merope could not hear the clicking of spoons anymore and thought it was safe to go back in. Entering the dinning room she saw that Morfin had come back, his clothes dirty and very hungry. Merope the pot and plates back to the kitchen. She quickly took off the lid praying there was food there. Nothing. She sighed, another night she went to bed with an empty stomach.


	2. Chapter Two

ÿþMerope woke up the next day at the crack of dawn. Her back ached because of sleeping on the floor of the kitchen. Ever since her mother had disappeared, Merope had slept on the floor. Her house consisted of 3 very tiny rooms. A dining room with a combined kitchen, his father's room and Morfin s room. Merope used to sleep in Morfin s room but after her mother's disappearance, Morfin got away with using Merope as her guinipig and Merope preferred sleeping on the filthy floor rather than waking up with a tail and whiskers.   
Like always, she took out a broken piece of a mirror from a cupboard under the sink and looked at herself. She did not like what she saw. Merope was sure that if she took some time to groom herself she would look acceptable if not exceptional. She had big black eyes that had an empty look in them, fair skin, black tangled mess of hair, a long but sleek nose and alright looking lips. She brushed her hair with her fingers and tied them up. She got up and made her way outside, to one hedge in which there was a little hole through which she stared. She couldn't see much. This part of Little Hangleton was very ugly. The trees and hedges were uncared for. Nobody had bothered to mow the grass in what seemed like forever. It felt gloomy and depressing to look outside and see this, but she kept looking. She was waiting for him to come.

Tom Riddle was handsomely riding a horse oblivious to the fact that he was being watched. He set out early in the morning for the stables, a daily ritual. He had been fascinated with horses ever since he was a child. He passed Mr Darell's house and saw him get out of the house with groggy eyes, checking for post.  
'Hello Tom!' he said. 'Alright?'  
'Yes, Sir' Tom replied. He liked it when the man sucked up to him. He kept on going though. The houses were slowly disappearing. Soon there was nothing to see but overgrown hedges and unmowed grass. Tom saw the one house he disliked in the whole of Little Hangleton. It belonged to an old man named Marvolo Gaunt. The people were really disturbed. Tom had seen the son running around and hissing at things, Tom was sure he was mad. Tom stopped beside a particularly large and ugly hedge waiting for Cecilia to arrive.

It seemed like Merope s heart had stopped beating. Even though Merope saw him everyday, she still couldn't understand how someone could be this beautiful, with his black eyes, high cheekbones and dark hair, he was perfect. She stared at him. He was riding a glossy chestnut horse which Merope was sure was very expensive. And then she came. Cecilia darling. Merope hated her. Merope hated her more than she hated Morfin or her father. She saw Tom get down from her horse and kiss Cecilia full on the lips. Merope couldn't help it. She started crying, sobbing. Merope didn't have a chance. Cecilia was perfect. She was rich, beautiful and just what Tom deserved. She stared at them kissing, with tears running down her face. Finally they broke apart. Tom lifted Cecilia to her horse, got on his own and rode away.


End file.
